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Mattapan Now Second Best Housing Market In Mass.

BOSTON (CBS) - Mattapan is among a handful of Boston neighborhoods that was largely bypassed by the past decade's housing bubble, with the area's slim inventory and years of urban decay.

However, it now has some wind at its back.

Through the second quarter, Mattapan ranked among the best-performing housing markets in the Bay State, boasting an 18 percent year-over-year increase in sales volume and a 7 percent increase in home values.

That's according to the Boston Business Journal's latest Housing Leaders & Laggards report, which uses Zillow Inc. housing data to gauge buyer momentum in 159 local ZIP codes.

With an average home value of $236,000, Mattapan ranked as the state's second-hottest market in the second quarter.

To say Mattapan was an outlier among the second quarter's other top performers would be an understatement.

The neighborhood's tightly packed streets, replete with triple deckers and scattered ground-level store fronts, are a far cry from the leafy suburbs and tony Boston communities that otherwise dominate the top of the Leaders & Laggards report.

For example, the city's Beacon Hill-West End district was tops in the quarter, posting 11 percent value appreciation and a 4 percent increase in deals.

The average home value was around $425,000, according to Zillow.

Other leaders included Brookline's 02446 ZIP code; Newton's 02459; Milton's 02186; Wellesley's 02482; and Westwood's 02090.

Jim Nemetz, who heads Hammond Residential Real Estate in Brookline, said the market is off 25 percent from peak levels and favors houses that "need absolutely nothing," in terms of refurbishing.

He said the market will likely continue to move sideways. "I'm prepared for this to last another three, four, five years."

Lisa van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal reports

Nonetheless, things appear to warming in Mattapan, where 20 homes changed hands in the second quarter.

Local brokers say much of the area's momentum stems from new developments, namely New Boston Fund's Olmsted Green community off Morton Street.

Serafin Sanchez, the project's on-site sales manager and a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential, said six townhouses have sold this year, with most pricing out in the upper $200,000s.

He said many buyers are from other states.

"We're getting a lot of people who are not local and do not have preconceived notions of what Mattapan is like."

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